Winter 2018 - AirFire & Forestry Edition in English

agairupdate.com WINTER 2017

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T & M Aviation

NCFS takes delivery of AT-802F North Carolina Forest Service

Montenegro receives new AT-802A

Leading by example IN SID E A

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A LOOK BACK AT

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BULGARIA TURKEY ISRAEL join Macedonia’s wildfire battle

First 502XPs in Brazil and Argentina Ferrying a crop duster to South America Los Angeles County Fire - Guardians of Southern California

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agairupdate.com JUNE 2017

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Apocalypse on the plains

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keep turning… in this issue Winter 2017

A special section devoted to aerial firefighting and forestry

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P.O. Box 850 • Perry, GA 31069 USA 475 Myrtle Field Rd. • Perry, GA 31069 USA PHONE: 478-987-2250 FAX: 478-352-0025 aau@agairupdate.com • agairupdate.com Scan this QR Code with your smart phone.

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Firefighting funding for the future Air Tractor AT-802F begins firefighting work in Croatia Agricultural aviation fights flames in the National Park of Brasilia Spray beyond the day, fighting fire at night Flexible tanks making money

PUBLISHER: Bill Lavender - bill@agairupdate.com EDITOR: Graham Lavender - editor@agairupdate.com ACCOUNTING: Sandy Lavender - accounting@agairupdate.com ADMINISTRATION: Casey L. Armstrong - casey@agairupdate.com ADVERTISING: Ernie Eggler - ernie@agairupdate.com Melanie Woodley - melanie@agairupdate.com CLASSIFIED ADS: classifieds@agairupdate.com Melanie Woodley - melanie@agairupdate.com PRODUCTION: Deborah Freeman - aau@agairupdate.com CIRCULATION: Mary Jane Virden - maryjane@agairupdate.com subs@agairupdate.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Carlin Lawrence - carlin@agairupdate.com Alan McCracken - mccrackenalan@yahoo.com Robert McCurdy - robert@agairupdate.com Tracy Thurman - thurmantracyt@gmail.com LATIN AMERICAN REPS: Ernesto Franzen - ernesto@agairupdate.com Gina Hickmann - gina@agairupdate.com Pat Kornegay - pat@svatx.com © Copyright 2017 AgAir Update retains all rights for reproduction of any material submitted, to include but not limited to articles, photographs, emails and bulletin board posts. All material remain the copyright of AgAir Update. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in part or whole, without the written consent of the publisher. Editorial published do not necessary reflect the views of the publisher. Content within AgAir Update is believed to be true and accurate and the publisher does not assume responsibility for any errors or omissions. Unsolicited editorial manuscripts and photos are welcomed and encouraged. We cannot be responsible for return unless submissions are accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Advertising deadline is 12 noon, on the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication.

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As 2017 comes to a close

A LOOK BACK IN SID E A

agairupdate.com MARCH 2017

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by Bill Lavender

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T & M Aviation

NCFS takes delivery of AT-802F North Carolina Forest Service

Montenegro receives new AT-802A

Leading by example

IN SID E A

agairupdate.com SEPTEMBER 2017

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BULGARIA TURKEY ISRAEL join Macedonia’s wildfire battle

First 502XPs in Brazil and Argentina Ferrying a crop duster to South America Los Angeles County Fire - Guardians of Southern California

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At the end of the year, AirFire & Forestry recaps the previous quarterly editions for 2017. Beginning with the spring edition, AirFire & Forestry featured forestry operation T & M Aviation based in Abbeville, Louisiana. Owned and operated

by Ron Wolf and assisted by sons Thomas and Matt, the company has a fleet of five Bell 206s. Operations include everything from pelican rescues to row crop spray and various forestry applications. T & M Aviation is licensed to operate in more than 30 states.

Fires raged throughout the plains of Oklahoma and Texas creating an apocalypse - like world for cattle and property owners. SEAT aircraft were instrumental in limiting the extensive damage caused by these fires. The summer edition of AirFire & Forestry section told the story from a firsthand perspective of AirFire & Forestry’s Chief Editor Marc Mullis.

IN SID E A

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Apocalypse on the plains

Aerial firefighting worldwide has become a very important component in the fight against wildfires. AirFire & Forestry’s fall edition features AT-802’s role fighting wildfires in Macedonia with European countries Bulgaria, Turkey and Israel giving aerial assets aid. This year, 2017, has been a record breaking year for aerial firefighting. If not for the quick and efficient use of Single Engine Air Tanker aircraft, much more property and many more lives would have been lost.

With this rendition of three AirFire and Forestry cover feature stories in 2017, the publication year comes to an end with this winter edition. It starts all over with the upcoming spring edition and will continue throughout 2018. The future for aerial firefighting is bright. The world’s economies may often struggle, but there will always be one factor that guarantees the ongoing future of aerial firefighting and that is the ever increasing seven billion world population that will urbanize more wildlands. Aerial firefighting helps to ensure the demand for protection from wildfire is met.

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This is my everything There’s a lot riding with this Air Tractor. My livelihood, my reputation—my life is in this airplane. When lives and property are at stake, I want the total package.

Safety. Airframe. Engine. 24/7 support. A champion for my way of life and a supporter of this industry. The stakes couldn’t be higher. So I need everything.

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Marc Mullis marc@agairupdate.com

from the SEAT

Seasons are changing On October 1st the National Interagency Fire Council (NIFC) reduced the National Situation Report from daily to weekly. On that same day, the National Preparedness Level was reduced to Level One, the lowest possible threat value. Both of these actions are indications that the 2017 fire season is over.

However, I have always used the reduction in Situation Reports as a yardstick to determine the official end to fire season.

Not only was this year’s fire season the most intense and busiest season that I ever experienced, it was also the most expensive by a wide margin for the federal government and many affected states. By the end of September, the record for federal expenditures for wildfire suppression was shattered with over two billion dollars spent. This is about double what is normally spent. Then, in early October the devastating California fires hit and another one billion dollars were spent in that state alone. Nearly nine million acres burned in the U.S. versus about six million acres for the ten-year average.

New Exclusive Use SEAT contracts will have to be issued this winter and I certainly hope a little common sense is injected into the bidding process so we can avoid the fiasco experienced last spring. The government

tried to pit vendors against each other in what boiled down to a bidding war and the result was the government wound up spending much more than expected when their illdevised plan collapsed on itself. Hopefully, a lesson was learned and a fair and level process will come out of it.

Starting in the 2018 fire season, the entire fleet of federal contracted firefighting aircraft will run on jet-fuel. Neptune Aviation’s Lockheed P-2V air tankers were retired when their contracts expired this year. A retirement ceremony was held at their Missoula, Montana headquarters on October 1st. Less than a week after the ceremony, two of them, T-05 and T-14, were pressed back into service to assist with the fires in Northern California. This marks the end of an era and I thank you for your service ladies and gentlemen of the P-2Vs. As ADS-B equipment is installed in more and more aircraft, it has become a helpful tool in the aerial firefighting business. On large fires or in smoky conditions, it makes it easy to determine the position of other aircraft.

Situational awareness is improved leading to a safer environment in the fire traffic area.

By 2020, it will be required in all aircraft utilizing the national airspace system.

In August, hundreds of fires burning across the Western U. S. and Canada were putting up so much smoke that visibility was reduced to less than VFR conditions across vast areas. In these dangerous conditions, aircraft dispatches continued to come through. If one flight crew turned down an order, dispatch would just continue fishing around until they found a crew that would accept it. This is wrong. Pilots are taught safety is first, yet the government does not hesitate to ask us to fly in unsafe conditions. I believe if one crew turns down a mission because of risk involved, dispatch should put everything on hold until conditions improve. During this period, I turned down or aborted several missions. About a week after conditions did improve, the Department of Interior published a Safety Memo that basically said we should not fly in visibility limiting smoke.

Off season training season is here. Participate in the programs and bring something with you to add to them. Enjoy the holidays and I hope to see you in the mountains one day.

Marc Winter 2017

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Firefighting funding for the future

by Marc Mullis

Recently, two documents emerged from the federal government that make for an interesting comparison and provide a glimpse into the future of how wildland firefighting will be funded. The first document is from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is titled “Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Justification”. It is a large document at 325 pages and as the title implies, it is written justification for spending within the agency from building maintenance to acquisition of aircraft and everything in between. Intended readership is for lawmakers whose job is to approve spending and of course the American public who vote those lawmakers into office. The second document is titled “The President’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Wildland Fire Budget”.

It is a much smaller document at just a few pages and contains very little text and a whole lots of numbers. This budget was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2017 but at this writing in mid-November the Senate has yet to take any action.

The average layman could be confused by either document until it is explained how funding for wildfire management actually happens.

There are two budgets involved. One is with the USDA which administers the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the other is with the Department of Interior (DOI) which administers the Bureau

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of Land Management (BLM), the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and several other agencies. For instance, the USFS oversees the large and very large air tanker program along with Type One helicopters. The BLM manages the Single Engine Air Tankers (SEAT) and Type Two and Three helicopters. Both agencies operate their own smoke jumper and and aerial supervision programs. There has been talk for years of combining the two budgets, which would do away with a tremendous amount of duplication. For example, document number one from above is intended for the USDA only, while the DOI has to produce their own parallel document. The President’s budget proposal includes both of these agencies.

As reflected from both documents, the overall bottom line of the budget remains pretty flat or unchanged from FY 2017. However, under the surface there are some big changes coming. There will be a 5.7% reduction in wildland fire staffing. This will come on the administrative end while boots on the ground at the fire line numbers will remain the same. This trend is evident in the field like in Montana where they abandoned their satellite SEAT reload base program for a lack of personnel to staff the bases. All funding for research and study of wildfire has been cut from the budget for FY 2018. This doesn’t mean these programs will end, but the funding will have to come from

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another source. This seems to be an effort to do away with some of the duplicate spending.

Estimated government preparedness resources 2016-2018 Firefighting asset

Resource Type

2016 Actual

2017 Planned

2018 Estimated

Personnel

Fire Personnel

4221

4221

4081

FTE

2346

2346

2286

Smokejumpers

147

145

140

Type 1 crews

16

16

16

Veterans hand crew

6

6

6

Engines

610

610

605

Other Equipment

109

109

108

Water scoopers

6

6

6

SEAT

34

34

32

Helicopter type 2

10

10

10

Helicopter type 3

29

29

29

Smokejumper

7

7

7

ASM/Lead plane

4

3

4

Air tactical

12

12

12

Equipment Aviation

Utility 5 5 5 This table is an estimate only. Actual number are dependent upon timing and implementation of specific budgetary actions.

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Funding for wildfire preparation and suppression has been increased by 24% and 31%, respectively. This is a big difference as these two programs were already the largest in the budget. It might be noted that funds for all Exclusive Use contracts are derived from preparedness, while those for On Call contracts come out of suppression funding.

There seems to either be an effort to increase the size of the programs or to correct cost overruns that have occurred in past years. It could be a combination of the two as Exclusive Use large air tanker contracts are set to increase from sixteen to twenty percent for FY 2018, while in FY 2017 cost overruns began occurring by early mid-season.

One fact buried in the documents is the end of the contract for Aero

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Flights’ two Canadair CL-415 Super Scoopers. This comes as a surprise because these effective tools could make a big difference when the right conditions existed. Evidently, USFS management decided they were not cost effective. They are a very expensive piece of equipment with elevated operating costs and the same mission could be accomplished with the more abundant Fire Boss at a much less cost. All other aviation asset numbers will remain the same with the exception of Exclusive Use SEATs, which will drop to thirty-two from a total of thirty-four in FY 2017.

The USFS contracts for large air tankers are very complicated and the documents that are made available to the public are heavily redacted leaving key elements unavailable. One questionable clause in the Next Generation contract limits retardant tank size to between three thousand and five thousand gallons. Somehow, they worked around this requirement to allow Tanker Ten to operate their DC-10s that have eleven thousand plus gallon tanks. The DC-10s have become very popular as you often see all three of them working at the same time.

Global Supertanker recently filed a protest against this requirement to allow their Boeing B747-400 with its nineteen thousand plus gallon tank to work under a federal contract in the upcoming season. The General Accounting Office has ruled in favor of Global Supertanker while questioning why such a requirement is even in place. This opens the door for the Supertanker as well as any other Very Large Air Tankers (VLATs) that may be coming down the pipes.

Each year the amount of money spent fighting wildfires in the United States grows and each year the allocated budget struggles to keep up.

The figures in the President’s budget are only for federal efforts and do not include the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by states and other local agencies. In the USFS Justification Document, they make the case that in the future they will make an effort to recoup more funds from states or private properties when federal assets are used for suppression. Inflation is partially to blame for budget increases, but aviation resources are by far the largest piece of the pie in prevention and suppression efforts.

FY 2018 will be the first year the entire fleet will operate on jet fuel. It is really amazing at what gets accomplished each year on available funds.

When one compares the military budget to the wildland fire budget,it is only a drop in the bucket. Wildland firefighting is a real war, too.

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twenty years ago

Air Tractor AT-802F begins firefighting work in Croatia OLNEY, TX—Further attesting to its capabilities as a “worldclass” firefighter, the first Air Tractor AT-802F has been delivered to the Croatian government. The aircraft will be used for patrolling and initial attack duties along the country’s heavily-forested coastal areas just in time for the 1997 fire season, which usually runs from June through September.

Plans include delivery of a second 802F for the 1998 season. Janko Zlataric, president of authorized Air Tractor dealer MMCS in Augsburg, Germany, handled the sale and delivery of the two-seat, 800-gallon turbine powered aircraft.

“We believe this will be the first of many Air Tractors working in Croatia,” said Zlataric.

“The Croat government, which previously has been utilizing Canadair CL-215 and CL415 firebombers, was very impressed with the capabilities of the plane, along with its

significantly-lower operating costs compared to the larger air tankers.”

The aircraft includes the very latest electronic equipment, including a GPS system and transponder. Zlataric, along with a government engineer for technology from the Croatian government, felt strongly that this type of equipment must be included on this first Air Tractor, and then be standard on all future aircraft purchases to help standardize the country’s firefighting operations.

Zlataric, who had been working with the Croats for several years, is no stranger to the

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firefighting capabilities of the Air Tractor.

He has been utilizing the 500-gallon AT502 the past two years for firefighting work throughout the region. This past spring, he flew four members of the Croat government, including the Deputy Minister of the Interior, to the Spanish firefighting operation of Avialsa, another Air Tractor dealer who operates several AT-802F aircraft under contract with the Spanish government.

“It just so happened that during the course of demonstrating the AT-802F, the person who holds the same job in the Spanish government as the Croatian Deputy Minister was in attendance,” explained Zlataric. “So they had a good opportunity to talk with each other about problems and concerns they both experience in their respective countries, and how the Air Tractor could best meet those requirements. Needless to say, I think this was an important factor in the Croats choosing the Air Tractor.”

(L-R) Janko Zlataric, Rebic Ivan, Kolar Nikola, Hrkac Zlatko the 802F will begin patrolling the northern quadrant of the country along the Adriatic Sea. Based out of the city of Pula, the 802F will work with the three Canadair aircraft still operated by the Croatians, with the larger fire-bombers working in the central part of the country’s coastline.

Zlataric, two pilots and a mechanic from his operation in Germany flew to Olney, Texas to pick up the Air Tractor in late May. After a four-day ferry trip from Texas to Croatia,

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Croatia has future plans to greatly expand the number of remote fire bases throughout the country, taking existing airfields and converting them to serve the needs of firefighting crews.

Zlataric sees a promising future for the

Air Tractor in firefighting throughout the region.

operations

“There are many countries who could benefit from the Air Tractor’s firefighting capabilities, including Italy, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and many others,” said Zlataric. “I have no doubt that once these countries have a chance to see how well the AT-802F works in Croatia, they will follow suit and begin including the Air Tractor in their firefighting air forces.”

Introduced in 1993, the Air Tractor AT-802F was America’s first aircraft designed from the ground up to fight fires.

“The aircraft employes a level of technology in the fire gate controls not found in any other aircraft used for this purpose,” explained Air Tractor president Leland Snow. “The pilot may select the coverage level, amount or retardant to be dropped, make his ground speed correction and then depend on the aircraft computer to make continuous dump door adjustments to provide an even flow rate through the doors… which results in even coverage on the ground.”

Powered by the large and dependable P&W PT6A-67AG 1350 SHP engine, the AT-802F fully loaded has a rate of climb and cruise speed comparable to twin-engine ex-military tankers in this size range, but with the advantage of much lower maintenance and increased safety for the pilot. The quiet, slowturning prop allows the 802F to be based on small airports near towns and strategically located to potential burn areas.

In business since 1974, Air Tractor, Inc. manufactures more aircraft for the agricultural aviation industry than any other company in the industry. For more information on the 802F, or for the name of the nearest authorized Air Tractor dealer, operators should contact Air Tractor, Inc. at 940-564-5616.

call us for your next S.E.A.T. aircraft

Introduced in 1993, the Air Tractor AT-802F was America’s first aircraft designed from the ground up to fight fires.

“An accelerometer senses turbulence or airplane pitch accelerations and adjusts the door opening accordingly,” Snow continued. “With these state-of-the-art controls, and the ability to accurately select coverage levels, the 802F’s 800-gallon hopper load can do the work of a larger tanker with a conventional gate design.”

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Agricultural aviation fights flames in the National Park of Brasilia An ag-aviation operator and director of SINDAG (the Brazilian national association

of ag-operators) Tiago Textor of Aero Tex Aviação Agrícola participated in firefighting

operations beginning on August 29 until September 3 to combating fires in the National Park of Brasília. Textor and pilot Erasmo Carlos Griebeler gave support to the company Americasul Aeroagrícola who is contracted by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio, which manages the park).

The action involved teams of ICMBio and Ibama firefighters, firefighter soldiers and volunteers. Air support was provided by four Air Tractors, two from the Federal District Fire Brigade and the other two piloted

by Textor and Griebeler, in addition to an observation helicopter.

All teams remained on alert for the risk of new outbreaks. This is mainly due to the climatic conditions in the region - severe drought, high winds and high temperature.

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Spray beyond the day, fighting fire at night For years, Aviation Specialties Unlimited, (ASU) has pioneered the use of night vision goggles (NVGs) in numerous industries around the world.

With a mission to save lives, ASU helped the first non-military operators launch night time operations in the emergency medical services sector, law enforcement airborne units, agriculture, and for the past several years, aided in the training of operators using NVGs for fighting fires at night.

“Fighting fires at night is a critical operation that helps save lives, property and combats the destructive forces of fires like we have experienced throughout the U.S., Canada, South America and Australia,” said Watlington. “We launched our NVG Firefighting training program in 2010 to increase the safety of operators fighting fires at night with NVGs. Pilots know flying conditions at night are safer with NVGs and when you combine that with the fire’s behavior at night due to climate conditions and reduced traffic, it make sense to continue the fight into the night.”

Agriculture spray applicators know that night time conditions allow for better applications. This same principle has proven to be true for fighting fires also. At night, in most instances, temperatures fall, humidity increases and winds die down. This makes fighting fires at night ideal.

Using NVGs at night also help pilots identify hotspots that can fuel fires even further the next day.

In 2013, Helicopter Express was awarded a contract by the U.S. Forrest Service for using NVGs to fight fire at night North of L. A. in Lancaster, California. ASU assisted by training the OAS inspectors, U. S. Forest Service and Helicopter Express as well as actively flying with Helicopter Express for the first month of the contract which played a vital role in preparing the different groups for their important mission.

“Fighting fires at night using NVGs is not a new concept,” said ASU Director of Business Development and Sales Kim Harris. “This method was used in the late 70s and NVGs today have advanced significantly with better clarity and provide an unmatched level of situational awareness and safety.”

With Helicopter Express currently scheduled to successfully complete the 5-year contract in November of this year and an RFP from the USFS out for a new 5-year contract beginning in 2018, there is still a growing need to fight fires at night and combat the devastation experienced by many this summer. ASU remains committed to helping advance the expansion of more operators with the ability to fight fires at night.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department began operating with NVGs regularly in 2005. In 2011, ASU began training operators on the use of NVGs for aerial firefighting at night. ASU’s Director of Operations Justin Watlington, is an experienced pilot, certified instructor on both fixed wing and rotorcraft for NVGs.

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The same tanks can be used in various aircraft as the flexible tanks will conform to the available space utilizing the area to full capacity.

Turtle-Pac also has inflatable drum tanks to roll out of aircraft or slung under a helicopter.

INCREASE REVENUE!

FERRY TANKS fly you further to win contracts – minimum stops to save costs –

AIR CARGO haul fuel and back load other cargo with empty Turtle-Pacs. – No empty runs

APPLETON, MN 56208

Telephone: (320) 297-9088

Australian Made

Ph: + 61 7 5598 1959 Email: turtlepac@yahoo.com.au www.turtlepac.com

Email: info@aero-spray.com www.aero-spray.com

Winter 2017

AFF-15

Frost Flying inc.

Your

STRIKEDealer!

Delivering Firefighting Aircraft Worldwide! compro AGRINAUTICS WeathAero

Jack Frost 3393 Hwy 121 West Marianna, AR 72360

870-295-6213 &

AFF-16

A E R I A L

corrosion X Breckenridge

F I R E F I G H T I N G ’ S

N E W S P A P E R

Parts 870-295-6218 Tel 870-295-6213 Fax 870-295-6674 frostparts@hotmail.com